All 13 conferences and 55 schools had selections. The Missouri Valley Football Conference had the most with 17, while CAA Football was second with 14, the Big Sky third with 11 and the Ohio Valley and the Southland tied for fourth with 10 each. Among schools, South Dakota State led the way with six selections, North Dakota State and Sam Houston State had five each and 2016 FCS champion James Madison four.

The record-setting ability on offense is particularly impressive. Briscoe, who won the 2016 STATS FCS Walter Payton Award as the national offensive player of the year, passed for 57 touchdowns, a single-season record in the division, as well as 4,602 yards. He was so good that Gubrud and his FCS-record 5,160 passing yards were rendered to the second team. They hold the same positions on the preseason team.

Sam Houston State has one of the weakest schedules in the FCS. Therefore, the numbers are not very impressive, all things considered. JMU blew this "undefeated" team out 65-7 in the playoffs. UMAINE came very close to beating JMU last season. If UMAINE makes it to the playoffs, they should advance to the championship round. If not, a team in our conference should win the National Championship this season. Strong conference competition makes a huge difference down the stretch.

STATS recognized 22 players from 13 different conferences on the preseason Watch List for the prestigious Payton Award, given to the top FCS offensive player.

Ibitokun-Hanks is coming off a sophomore campaign that saw him lead the conference in rushing (126.2 ypg) while ranking fourth nationally. He scored 16 TD’s on the ground in 2016 (second-most in CAA Football) and registered six games of at least 100 yards rushing. The junior was named a STATS FCS Preseason First-Team All-American on Monday, also earning first-team preseason All-CAA honors last week.

RICHMOND, Va. (August 7, 2017) – Five CAA Football teams are ranked in the 2017 STATS FCS Preseason Top 25 poll that was released on Monday afternoon, with reigning national champion James Madison earning the No. 1 spot.

Joining the Dukes in the Top 25 poll are No. 7 Richmond, No. 10 Villanova, No. 13 New Hampshire and No. 24 UAlbany. CAA Football’s five ranked teams are the second-most of any conference, trailing only the Missouri Valley Football Conference with six.

JMU returns 14 starters from last year’s 14-1 squad that captured its second straight CAA Football crown with a perfect 8-0 mark. The Dukes knocked off five-time defending champ North Dakota State in the FCS playoff semifinals and Youngstown State in the finals to claim their second FCS National Championship. Senior quarterback Bryan Schor, the 2016 CAA Offensive Player of the Year, returns to lead an offense that scored a league-record 700 points. Senior defensive lineman Andrew Ankrah and senior safety Raven Greene top a group of eight starters back on defense.